Tag: potato

One of my favourite indulgences is books. Especially kids books, and one of my favourite places to get them is Another Story Bookshop on Roncesvalles in Toronto. Yesterday I popped in to pick up a pre-order, and a few other books for our son, on the way out by the check out – on their fantastic and ever changing cookbook wall – they had Vegan Recipes from the Middle East by Parvin Razavi, so I bought it. Flipping through was delightful, there were lots of colourful pictures and mostly straightforward recipes, and broken up into 6 sections by regions of the middle east. There are desserts and drinks and mains and appetizers, and they all look inviting and attainable – but what immediately jumped out at me was the Potato Kibbeh (on page 100), and I just knew I’d be making it today. I started the day off by throwing a bunch of potatoes in the instant pot so I could steam them for a few recipes I have planned for this week. The recipe for Potato kibbeh was easy to follow – I left the skin on the potatoes and mashed them, then mixed them with soaked bulgar wheat, grated onion, spices, and threw it in the oven for about an hour. It was delicious – the cinnamon and mint flavours were subtle, but swirled together with the onion and danced on my tongue. The bulgar potato combo was texturally fun, as was the crisp crust of the kibbeh.…

I love baked potatoes, I love soup, I love baked potato soup. It’s a creamy flavourful and thick soup that just feels like a warm hug on a cool day. Just waiting to be made in the fall as the days get cooler and shorter. But of course, it’s September in Toronto and that means it’s still just under 30 degrees celsius (that’s 80F if you’re using it) so this soup is ahead of its time today, but I’ve been thinking about this soup for weeks and it just couldn’t wait for another day. This recipe is inspired by the work of Guy Fieri and his fully loaded baked potato soup, but obviously veganized. It’s not terribly complicated, but can be, depending on how you’re feeling – I started by washing and roasting the potatoes, because they take the longest to finish – around 45 minutes – and it gave me time to do other soup related tasks. Baking them is absolutely worth it though – the added complexity of flavour is a delight. Vegan Magic is a vegan bacon grease type product made in Toronto, and available worldwide. To find out if it’s available near you, check out their website, but if you want to make your own, The Gentle Chef has you covered too with his recipe for Bacun Grease. One of the things that I like to do with soups that allow for it, is to add mashed beans for extra protein – especially in a soup…